The U.S. Department of State’s July 2024 Visa Bulletin confirms prior predictions of backlogs in the employment-based immigrant visa process for EB-3 Professionals and Skilled Workers. According to the State Department, high demand has made it “necessary to retrogress the worldwide EB-3 final action date” by more than eleven months—to December 1, 2021—effective in July.

Quick Hits

• The EB-2 final action dates for all areas will move forward.
• The EB-3 final action date for “worldwide” countries (i.e., countries not otherwise listed), Mexico, and the Philippines will retrogress by more than eleven months.

The EB-1 final action date for India will advance eleven months to February 1, 2022, China will advance two months to November 1, 2022, and all other countries will remain current.

In the EB-2 category, China’s final action date will advance by one month to March 1, 2020, with all other countries, including India, advancing two months. (India will advance to June 15, 2012; all other countries will advance to March 15, 2023.)

As noted above, the EB-3 final action date for “worldwide” countries, Mexico, and the Philippines will retrogress by more than eleven months to December 1, 2021, but the final action date for India will advance by one month to September 22, 2012, and the final action date for China will remain September 1, 2020.

While the chart below indicates that EB-1 and EB-2 final action dates will move forward from the dates listed in the June 2024 Visa Bulletin, the current update confirms predictions of retrogressions and slowdowns contributing to significant backlogs in the employment-based visa process.

Source: U.S. Department of State, July 2024 Visa Bulletin

In the June 2024 Visa Bulletin, the State Department noted that due to high demand, “retrogression of the worldwide EB-3 final action date (including Mexico and Philippines)” would be required in July. The State Department has confirmed in the July 2024 Visa Bulletin that continued high demand in the EB-3 category will likely necessitate further retrogression of the final action date or unavailability of the category in the month of August.